Round Two: Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark: Season 1, Episode 2 “Never Be the Same” (B)

I’m wary of picking up new shows simply because they’re an investment, and that’s doubly true of streaming series since they drop all their episodes at once, which makes me immediately way behind. But I found this pilot to be very strong, and I’m very happy that “The Florida Project” star Brooklynn Prince is doing something like this as the next step of her career. This show definitely has an air of very serious mystery to it that suggests it’s made for adults rather than an audience of preteens that might enjoy seeing their peers on screen. Much is played for laughs, like the principal falling asleep while supervising detention, but then it gets brought back to the real threat of adults coming after these kids and putting their lives in danger. And it’s not just Hilde – Izzy got up to her own misadventures in the woods and got to come home flaunting her parents’ concern for her safety. Unsurprisingly, Matt wasn’t entirely forthcoming with his family about why he left home, and Bridget got to experience the implications of that as she saw the entire town shut her out along with her youngest child. Kim showing up and being addressed by her first name by Matt eliminated one suspect, but I doubt she’ll be an ally just yet. I couldn’t peg who her portrayer was in the first episode, and now that I know that it’s Joelle Carter from “Justified,” I wish it was a slightly better role for her. I’ll continue watching this show for a bit, but I’m not sure I’ll stick with it through the end of the season.